Star Citizen

Quite sceptical here, the on-ground gameplay sequence was pretty cool, but obviously this is all scripted. I hope it's not just for the show and that they realise, at least in my conception, that an open world is not an end in itself but just a very handy canvas for what's important : an actual game.

The last time we got promised anything procedural ended being a mass cock up. Consider me extremely sceptical of this games scope. I just don't think it can deliver what it is trying to pull off here. It's just too much.

Quote from dux

3 hours ago, dux said: The last time we got promised anything procedural ended being a mass cock up. Consider me extremely sceptical of this games scope. I just don't think it can deliver what it is trying to pull off here. It's just too much.

I think Subnautica is quite a good example of a well crafted world with similar-ish gameplay, and look how long that's taken and that's just one world. Now do that same thing for an entire planet, FOUR HUNDRED TIMES. Mental.

I hope they pull it off too but I imagine most planets will feel quite sparse.

Starting a bit off topic: I read the description of No Man's Sky, pretty much understood what everything meant practically, didn't pre-order. Read reviews, confirmed my preconceptions. Bought the game, enjoyed it for exactly what it was. It really surprises me how people can make such a fuss about a game that has a bit ambitious PR when there's people like Peter Molyneux and Chris Roberts walking around The only thing wrong with it was the price.

Back to Star Citizen. I backed it ages ago, tried some of the alphas, followed a lot of the presentations, dev diaries etc. In my honest opinion this could be a total dream game, especially in VR. But I am part of the skeptical bunch. I feel like everything I see from this game comes from something being started in the wrong end of where you want to start. Just the fact that the running animation is so crooked still is strange to me. A lot of the dev diaries made it seem like people had never worked on a game before.

It still seems like a walking/flying tech demo for a new version of the Cryengine. Beautiful environments, but there must be 2-3 years of development to make this come alive still. And by that time who knows. I really think they should have gone with a model more like Frontier's, if not totally the same. But more in that vein, because all the mechanics are so solid there. And that is SO hard to nail. The longer it takes I just automatically think as a developer that it will be harder to achieve down the road.

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/2jsfax6.jpg]

Space worms!

http://youtubeonrepeat.com/watch/?v=rRsF6…from=933&to=935

The latest "Around The Verse" has a segment on how we approach the design of the many many locations for Star Citizen's persistent universe. It's still early days, but I think some of you might find it interesting

Been following SC very closely lately and I cannot wait for 3.0 to hit. I do love how the interiors for everything from the tiniest of ships to the biggest capital ships all the way down to the planets are all built to scale and have purposes. It'll be insane when it's finally done!

The only downside to this for me is that I can't afford any of the ships!

What part do you work on @FrieChamp?

Quote from Beck

19 minutes ago, Beck said: Been following SC very closely lately and I cannot wait for 3.0 to hit. I do love how the interiors for everything from the tiniest of ships to the biggest capital ships all the way down to the planets are all built to scale and have purposes. It'll be insane when it's finally done!

The only downside to this for me is that I can't afford any of the ships!

What part do you work on @FrieChamp?

Pretty much what Todd and Andreas are talking about in the video. These days I focus on the modularity system itself in an interdisciplinary team. Deciding rules and workflows, prototyping stuff like modularity within modules (not just connecting modules but an additional layer of "swapping out parts of rooms") which you can see here:

I have also been working on the cargo station archetype that is coming a little further down the line than the truck stop.

Oh and you don't have to spend a lot of cash on a Constellation Andromeda to be flying. 45$ and you can get into a cockpit (or just wait for the next free weekend)!

Sounds awesome dude. Love the modularity seen in the video.

I already have an Aurora MR with lifetime insurance which I bought a few years ago. It's not a great ship but it allows me to fly around a little. Hope other ships are obtainable without hundreds of hours or money when the full game drops. I'm not expecting to ever have a capital ship of course but at least a fighter or maybe even the Prospector (The solo mining ship) etc so I could at least do some of the professions. I'm sure it'll work out fine in the end and I'll be able to do everything I want to do.

You've got a new addition to your studio from Rebellion soon. He's coming to work on cinematics for SQ42 if I remember correctly. He's a cool guy

Keep up the good work!

Quote from FrieChamp

On 17/03/2017 at 11:54 AM, FrieChamp said: Pretty much what Todd and Andreas are talking about in the video. These days I focus on the modularity system itself in an interdisciplinary team. Deciding rules and workflows, prototyping stuff like modularity within modules (not just connecting modules but an additional layer of "swapping out parts of rooms") which you can see here:

I have also been working on the cargo station archetype that is coming a little further down the line than the truck stop.

Oh and you don't have to spend a lot of cash on a Constellation Andromeda to be flying. 45$ and you can get into a cockpit (or just wait for the next free weekend)!

Modular set seems very similar to when I designed it. What has changed on them out of interest?

Quote from Vilham

On 18/03/2017 at 3:34 PM, Vilham said: Modular set seems very similar to when I designed it. What has changed on them out of interest?

I wasn't talking about the template tile-set (walls, floors etc.), which is the most granular type of modularity that we have (didn't know that you designed that - high five! ). If you think of a room as a module that gets connected to other modules to create layout variations, players will traverse through some specific modules frequently (like hubs for example). The immersion breaks. So we are trying add variation to individual modules without creating numerous bespoke modules. Splitting modules into sub-modules and mixing-matching them is a layer on top that can help to break the repetition with less burden on content creation.

Like I said, this is still early days and maybe we'll add more procedural stuff to the mix in the future, but the handcrafted environments have set a quality bar that we shouldn't deviate too far from.

EDIT: I just realize I might have misread your question and you literally just wanted to know what has changed to the tileset. I wasn't around at the time you left, so sadly I have no reference. In the 7 months I have been working here, it has stayed pretty much the same though.

When I left there was still a little bit of floor mesh as part of the walls, basically making the wall tile 1m deep and on the grid. I have heard that changed. Interesting that was added by art to ensure there was trim on the floor where it met the wall. Looks like you have some whitelines along that trim now, is that a decal or is that just bespoke wall/floor transition tiles.

Quote from Vilham

57 minutes ago, Vilham said: When I left there was still a little bit of floor mesh as part of the walls, basically making the wall tile 1m deep and on the grid. I have heard that changed. Interesting that was added by art to ensure there was trim on the floor where it met the wall. Looks like you have some whitelines along that trim now, is that a decal or is that just bespoke wall/floor transition tiles.

That's just a decal.

I wish there was that kind of modularity in SnapMap!

Regarding the monetisation, I really don't understand how you guys are convincing players to buy all that stuff. Add-ons that cost as much as a game is crazy for what I'm concerned.

Quote from blackdog

1 hour ago, blackdog said: I wish there was that kind of modularity in SnapMap!

Regarding the monetisation, I really don't understand how you guys are convincing players to buy all that stuff. Add-ons that cost as much as a game is crazy for what I'm concerned.

Well, the way I see it is (if they can pull it off) it could potentially be the best space game out there. I think a lot of people want to see it happen and the target market for this game are the types of people who have disposable incomes. I bet they don't mind dropping hundreds of $'s on a single ship if it helps fund the game. The ships normally come with perks like lifetime insurance too so there's that too.

What's lifetime insurance in a videogame?! Like not only you can pay $100 easy on a ship… but if it gets wrecked or captured by others is lost forever?

Quote from blackdog

2 hours ago, blackdog said: What's lifetime insurance in a videogame?! Like not only you can pay $100 easy on a ship… but if it gets wrecked or captured by others is lost forever?

Yes, to my knowledge, there is going to be such a thing as perma-death for ships. It is unlikely, but basically, if you buy a ship and don't have the petty cash of in-game currency to pay for the insurance (and ignore all warnings and still fly without one) then, yes, you will lose it forever upon destruction.

Quote from FrieChamp

1 hour ago, FrieChamp said: Yes, to my knowledge, there is going to be such a thing as perma-death for ships. It is unlikely, but basically, if you buy a ship and don't have the petty cash of in-game currency to pay for the insurance (and ignore all warnings and still fly without one) then, yes, you will lose it forever upon destruction.

Do you need to register at the Intergalactic Department of Space Vehicles before being able to pilot the ship through space? Also, is there a tax for older ships that use outdated and potentially harmful propulsion systems?

I mean, I understand the making you valute your digital possessions hence making you feel more into the game… but this is ridiculous to me.